CV Stardom

Eduard “Landslide” Folayang, 34, of the Philippines had a memorable trip to Singapore nearly two years ago when he hoisted an intricately crafted hardware above his head in celebration after claiming the biggest victory of his professional career. His world title-clinching performance against Shinya “Tobikan Shudan” Aoki, 34, of Japan at “ONE: Defending Honor” in November 2016 was an unexpected win.

But what made it more spectacular was how the beloved Team Lakay fighter defeated the Japanese mixed martial arts legend. In the third round, the former thwarted the latter by driving a hard knee to the head before unleashing a barrage of punches to coerce referee Yuji Shimada to wave it off.

The manner by which Folayang beat a high-profile competitor like Aoki shocked the world. The latter has long been considered as the most dominant lightweight MMA fighter in Asia for the better part of the last decade.

On May 18, 2018, Folayang will be setting foot on Singaporean soil once more as he is set to lock horns with undefeated Russian prospect Kharun “Predator” Atlangeriev, 25, on the undercard of “ONE: Unstoppable Dream.” The Filipino fighter said, “Singapore is where I won the title.”

“I was the underdog in that title bout against Shinya Aoki, but I managed to pull off the upset win,” Folayang said. “It was so memorable. The country will always be dear to my heart.”

“The energy is palpable,” the former ONE Lightweight World Champion noted. “I won’t say it’s my home court, but it gives me the motivation and inspiration because it is the place where I became the champion.”

Going back to the Singapore Indoor Stadium where he won the ONE Lightweight World Championship belt, Folayang feels elated to strut his wares in Singapore again. He stated, “Singapore is an awesome country.”

Folayang described the Singapore Indoor Stadium as an awesome venue that is “truly world-class.” Located in Kallang, Singapore, the sports arena has a full capacity of 12,000.